If I recall correctly, I heard about four or
five unique sounds. A good representation of all of them would be ideal, but
I'm not sure if it would require recording the whole procedure or not.
I can always loop the samples in the studio...though ideally, it would be
cool to have an entire 30 min. MRI session recorded, and I would just use
that as a backdrop for experimental looping...one LONG freakin' song.
I would also mangle sections of the MRI recording with my VST effects,
such as Antares Filter, PSP84, etc.

That would be outstanding. Perhaps putting
the recording in the control room of the MRI facility and having the
wires run into the room, two stereo microphones on either side of the
machine would be ideal, but that may not be feasible. Even a basis
minidisc recorder with a small stereo microphone attached would be good
enough raw material for me! :)

Your comment about the headphones explains
why the headphones they put on me were attached to plastic tubing that
ran to the control room...just the like good ol' fashion communication
system in boats and submarines! I think a mic would be fine
outside the machine. When I had my MRI, there were plenty of objects in
the room around the machine...I just couldn't have any metallic objects
on my body inside it. They were really concerned about that. I was shot
in the leg by a .357 magnum when I was a teenager, which left several
pieces of soft lead in my leg, which were removed surgically. That was
enough for them to open their manual and search for data on that caliber
of gun, types of bullets, copper vs. lead shells,
etc.

I have connections and could probably sneak into one, the
challenge is recording it with something non-magnetic. It's been
a challenge to design headphones that won't rip off your head (read
that as you like;-) ) or mess up the images. Let me think about
a technique....

I just had a most exhilarating
experience: my first MRI (on my lower back). This was amazing.
I laid down on a sliding table, and they pushed me into a
sarcophagus like tube with mere inches around my entire
body. They put large headphones on my head, and then for the
next 30 minutes I was eased into a seemingly euphoric and
meditative state. What I heard were a series of interesting
sounds...from jackhammer-like hammering, to buzzing or vibrating
cycles, bizarre sci-fi industrial like sounds, and so on. It was
delightful. The MRI technician said it was a rarity for
someone to actually enjoy that procedure. At one point
in time, I was in a half waking/dream state and was awoke by my
leg twitching. I could have stayed in there most of the
day. And the amazing thing is that when I asked about the
source of the sounds, he said they were not mechanically generated;
rather, around my body, encased in metal, was a giant electrical
coil surrounded by helium, chilled down to a cool minus 270
degrees. The sounds were a result of changes they were making
in the electrical current and the resulting vibrations to the
machine. Unbelievable...not sure how all that produces an image of
my back, however.

...anyway, I started thinking, I would
love to have that 30 minutes captured on a digital recorder so that
I could use it for looping or as an ambient backdrop to my more
experimental looping.